Peggy Perry, one of the estimated 150 people trapped in their homes New Bern, North Carolina, has speaking to CNN.

In a matter of seconds my house was flooded up to the waist. And we’re stuck in the attic. There’s four of us.

We’ve been up here for like three or four hours. There’s a little window here that we might have to break up (to get out).

She said she had heard no word from the emergency services about when help will come.

Michael Nelson floats in a boat made from a metal tub and fishing floats after the Neuse River went over its banks and flooded his street in New Bern, North Carolina Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Florence has already inundated coastal streets with ocean water and left tens of thousands without power. The onslaught could last for days with large areas flooded by a combination of rising seas and heavy rains.

The coastal city of New Bern is meanwhile attempting to evacuate 150 people trapped by floodwaters and advising them to move higher in their houses.

City of New Bern (@CityofNewBern)

Currently ~150 awaiting rescue in New Bern. We have 2 out-of-state FEMA teams here for swift water rescue. More are on the way to help us. WE ARE COMING TO GET YOU. You may need to move up to the second story, or to your attic, but WE ARE COMING TO GET YOU. #FlorenceNC

The NHC has warned of “catastrophic” freshwater flooding expected over portions of the Carolinas as Florence inches closer to the US east coast.

North Carolina governor Roy Cooper has warned of an impending disaster. “The worst of the storm is not yet here but these are early warnings of the days to come,” he said. “Surviving this storm will be a test of endurance, teamwork, common sense and patience.”

Forecasters say the combination of a life-threatening storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland.

At about 2am east coast time, Hurricane Florence is bearing down on the east coat of the US.

The hurricane has been downgraded to a category 1 storm – earlier this week it was a category 4.

More significant weakening was expected over the weekend and into early next week while Florence moves inland

However the slow progress means the hurricane is hovering over the edge of the country, which is experiencing torrential rainfall and life-threatening storm surges

The threat of flooding is set to increase over the next few days

Florence is about 60 miles (95 km) east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph)

The National Weather Service said that between 20 and 40 inches of rainfall was predicted to fall in some areas, and warned that they “cannot overstate the threat of catastrophic flooding this storm will bring”

The number of people affected by power outages in North Carolina has increased to more than 102,000, according to Emergency Management North Carolina

The National Weather Service (NWS) has been warning people that Florence will not just affect coastal communities, as warnings come that very few parts of North Carolina will escape torrential rainfall, and that surges will occur along rivers and other bodies of water.

An example of the impact on inland communities is seen in this tweet from the NWS in Greenville, which is in the north-west corner of South Carolina, about as far from the coast as you can get in the state.

They are starting to see outer bands of cloud spinning across their area as a result of Florence, with raining beginning tomorrow as a result of the hurricane.

NWS GSP (@NWSGSP)

While the rain from #Florence remains to our east, its outer bands of high cloud have begun to spin across our area. You can see one such band over us right now in this infrared satellite imagery from #GOES16. Rain from #Florence could begin late tomorrow in the Charlotte area. pic.twitter.com/bXDsd3NAQq